Characterizing the movement of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in an avian aquatic–terrestrial food web
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) in such systems may be exposed to PFAS from multiple abiotic and/or biotic compartments. We show from fatty acid signatures and carbon stable isotopes that tree swallow nestlings in southwestern Ontario fed on both terrestrial and aquatic macroinvertebrates. The PFAS profiles of air, terrestrial invertebrates, and swallows were dominated by perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) were largely restricted to air, surface water, and sediment, and long-chain PFAAs were mainly found in aquatic invertebrates and tree swallows. PFOS, multiple long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids [perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)] and perfluorooctane sulfonamide precursors were estimated to bioaccumulate from air to tree swallows. PFOS bioaccumulated from air to terrestrial invertebrates, and PFOS, PFDA, and perfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetic acids (FOSAAs) bioaccumulated from water to aquatic invertebrates. PFOS showed biomagnification from both terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates to tree swallows, and PFDA and FOSAAs were also biomagnified from aquatic invertebrates to tree swallows. The movement of PFAS through aquatic-terrestrial food webs appears congener- and compartment-specific, challenging the understanding of PFAS exposure routes for multiple species involved in these food webs.
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The few available terrestrial field studies revealed specific differences in the extent of PFAS bioaccumulation between species.
“Yet, the few available terrestrial field studies revealed specific differences in the extent of PFAS bioaccumulation between species (Ecke et al., 2023; Hopkins et al., 2023; Groffen et al., 2023; Koch et al., 2020)”
From Strong bioaccumulation of a wide variety of PFAS in a contaminated terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem (2025) · cites this paper as Hopkins et al., 2023
The Results and Discussion section on bioaccumulation reports no evidence of PFDS bioaccumulation in tree swallows, contrasting this with a Swedish riparian study that reported it in biota; the authors discuss swallows and spiders as a possible explanation. This supports an example of differing bioaccumulation, but the comparison is between studies at different sites, not a demonstrated species-specific difference within this field study. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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Strong bioaccumulation of a wide variety of PFAS in a contaminated terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem
Gkika, I. S., Arie Vonk, J., ter Laak, T. L., van Gestel, C. A. M., Dijkstra, J., Groffen, T., Bervoets, L., & Kraak, M. H. S. (2025) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2025.109629 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Hopkins, K. E., McKinney, M. A., Saini, A., Letcher, R. J., Karouna-Renier, N. K., & Fernie, K. J.
- Affiliations
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (CA)
- McGill University (CA)
- U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Research Refuge, 12302 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, Maryland 20708, United States
- Corresponding author
- Fernie, Kim J.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2023-11-24
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 48
- Pages
- 20249-20260
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- PMC
- PMC10702434
- OpenAlex
- W4388969293
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 5
- FWCI
- 3.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Government of Canada
- Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Canada Foundation for Innovation (37873)
- Canada Research Chairs
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN-2019-05330)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Keywords
- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS bioaccumulation, biomagnification, Tachycineta bicolor, PFOS, perfluorocarboxylic acids, fatty acid signatures, stable carbon isotopes, aquatic macroinvertebrates, sediment contamination, exposure routes, nestlings
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Birds, Decanoic Acids, Fluorocarbons, Invertebrates, Water, Alkanesulfonic Acids, Food Chain
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